The Options Program
Five Campuses, One University
What it is
The Options Program is our response to the increasing number of highly qualified students who seek admission to the University of Pittsburgh. As our reputation continues to grow, so does the volume of our applications. Unfortunately, we have limited number of spaces at our Pittsburgh campus, and we find that we cannot accommodate all students who apply. However, for students whose academic profile suggests they could benefit from the University’s educational philosophy, strengths, and reputation, the admission committee may offer admission to one of our four regional campuses. The same philosophy, strengths, and international reputation are also available at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville.
How it works
Students typically apply directly to the University of Pittsburgh campus of their choice. However, some academically qualified students do not gain admission to their first choice of campus due to the level of academic competition. The University may then offer an admission alternative to many of these students who possess an acceptable academic profile.
For students who are not admissible to the Pittsburgh campus but rank their campus choices on the Pittsburgh campus admissions application, the committee will review the applicants for admission to another University of Pittsburgh campus according to their preference. Depending upon qualification, this may result in an offer of admission to the second-, third-, or fourth-ranked campus.
For students who do not rank their preferred campus, the committee will make the best choice possible for the students based on their qualifications and intended academic goal. Students will be contacted by the University campus where they qualify for admission following their initial notification of an Options decision by the Pittsburgh campus.
Once offered an option, students are encouraged to explore both what is specific to that campus in the way of setting and programs, and in what ways major University resources are shared throughout this unique system.
To learn right away about what is specific to the Options campus to which you’ve been offered admission or have prequalified, we suggest you look at that campus Web site, provided on this page. As mentioned, you also can expect to receive information directly from that campus.
What we mean by shared
- International Recognition: For more than 200 years, the University of Pittsburgh has grown and prospered. We are now numbered among the top research institutions in the nation. WE are a world-renowned university—a major center of teaching and learning, research and medicine—and the degrees that confer, offered at all five campuses, carry that recognition with them.
- Commitment: Commitment to undergraduate education. We reward and award good teaching at the University of Pittsburgh. Each campus boasts recipients of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Each campus offers a wide array of academic support services to help ensure the successful completion of your studies. Your success is to a very large degree our success. Just as you have an academic track record spanning 12 or so years of schooling, we have ours, spanning more than two centuries of successful teaching.
- Opportunity: For students to apply to upper-division, professional programs on the Pittsburgh campus at the junior-year level. This includes the Schools of Education, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Information Sciences, Pharmacy, and Social Work. But we also provide opportunities for education al and career-related experiences outside the classroom and in the community that will help give you an edge, a leg up, in your career endeavors. Internships, leadership opportunities, research possibilities, and volunteer work are available and encouraged at all of our campuses.
- A Social Life: A wide range of University-sponsored extracurricular activities is offered at all of our campuses. These include education lectures, dances, film series, concerts, music and cultural productions, and much, much more. Some of these activities by their very nature are going to be specific to a particular campus, but every campus offers a full array of possibilities that cater to almost every style and taste. In addition, each campus offers unlimited opportunities for leadership and works with interest students in developing their leadership potential for the college years and beyond.
- Library Collections and Services: The University Library System is the 26th-largest academic research library in all of North America and the 16th-largest among the prestigious public libraries of the Association of American Universities. It provides a large array of innovative, world-class services. All students at the University have a ready access via a shared online catalog, PITTCAT, to the University’s 28 libraries that collectively hold 4.9 million volumes and 50,000 journals. Students at any Pitt campus may borrow all of these materials directly or through intercampus loan. In addition, the University’s massive digital library of databases, electronic journals, and electronic books is available through the Pitt network.
- Technology: From maintaining the University’s extensive network of wired and wireless Internet connections, to providing low-cost software and technical support, Computing Services and Systems Development is Pitt’s one-stop source for information technology solutions. Students have access to more than 120 software applications, multiple operating systems, and software/hardware support and services. The University’s network (PittNet) provides access to the World Wide Web, e-mail services, library resources, course schedules, grades and billing information.
- Access to Information, Networking, and Support Services: The services of the University Office of Career Development before and after graduation, including access to Future Links, a computerized database that enables all students to place their resumes in resume books for employment review. Daily, employers post jobs on Future Links for student review.
- Athletics and Recreation: A full range of intercollegiate athletic opportunities is offered at each of our five campuses. While the Pittsburgh campus is a member of NCAA Division I, the other campuses are members of NCAA Division II (Johnstown), NCAA Division III (Bradford and Greensburg), or NJCAA (Titusville). In addition, each campus provides a multitude of fitness, recreation, and intra-mural sports, which take advantage of the specific outdoor attributes of each campus setting.
- Study Abroad: Incorporating a study abroad experience is strongly recommended for any student at the University of Pittsburgh, regardless of major or foreign language ability. As a world-class University, Pitt has relationships with many excellent universities around the world to offer students at all five campuses the opportunity to live and study in a foreign culture, while earning credits towards their University of Pittsburgh degree. Each year, hundreds of Pitt students from all campuses participate in study abroad.
- Internships: Internship opportunities (both credit and noncredit) are provided for students, depending on academic major and level of student interest, at all five campuses.
- Family: A network of 255,111 Pitt alumni, worldwide.
The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution.
You
You have been offered an opportunity for a University of Pittsburgh education at one of our Options campuses. Every campus has people that are more than ready to answer any and all questions you might have.
Contact information for each campus follows:
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Office of Admissions
300 Campus Drive
Bradford, PA 16701-2898
814-362-7555 or 1-800-872-1787
Fax: 814-362-5150
E-mail: admissions@upb.pitt.edu
www.upb.pitt.edu
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg
Office of Admissions
Millstein Library
1150 Mt. Pleasant Road
Greensburg, PA 15601-5898
724-836-9880 or 412-624-6118 ext. 9880
Fax: 724-836-7160
E-mail: upgadmit@pitt.edu
www.upg.pitt.edu
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Office of Admissions
157 Blackington Hall
450 Schoolhouse Road
Johnstown, PA 15904
814-269-7050 or 1-800-765-4875
Fax: 814-269-7044
E-mail: upjadmit@pitt.edu
www.upj.pitt.edu
University of Pittsburgh at Titusville
Office of Admissions
504 East Main Street
Titusville, PA 16354
814-827-4509 or 1-888-878-0462
Fax: 814-827-4519
E-mail: upjadmit@pitt.edu
www.upt.pitt.edu
We hope you will seriously consider your options at the University of Pittsburgh.
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
University of Pittsburgh